Shenmue Saturn + Sega Systems Talk

[DCUltrapro]

I know we are all sega fanatics on this forum, but I don't see how Shenmue saturn looks better than a PS1 game. There were plenty of 3D ps1 games with fairly large worlds/levels such as the Tenchu series or Tail Concerto, and I think Shenmue saturn with its blocky graphics and low res textures looks on par with them rather than vastly superior.

seriously? the graphics in that vid look AWESOME for a saturn title, and the facial models and textures far surpass what I remember being capable on the PS1... I mean look at MGS for christ sake, that looked horrible by comparison.. nah this was definitely a step up for 32bit games etc, I'm surprised it looked that good tbh

[cloofoofoo]

I know we are all sega fanatics on this forum, but I don't see how Shenmue saturn looks better than a PS1 game. There were plenty of 3D ps1 games with fairly large worlds/levels such as the Tenchu series or Tail Concerto, and I think Shenmue saturn with its blocky graphics and low res textures looks on par with them rather than vastly superior.

seriously? the graphics in that vid look AWESOME for a saturn title, and the facial models and textures far surpass what I remember being capable on the PS1... I mean look at MGS for christ sake, that looked horrible by comparison.. nah this was definitely a step up for 32bit games etc, I'm surprised it looked that good tbh

In my opinion I think Vagrant story, threads of fate , and soul reaver give it a pretty good run for its money.Iam pretty sure there are others.

[DCUltrapro]

true I do remember seeing Vagrant Story, that was pretty nice looking. I just mean in terms of the polygon painting or texturing and the facial detail, the fact the eyes and lips move and the faces are so clear and what not makes me feel it is slightly better. I also remember Fear Effect being fairly good but again the faces weren't great

[cloofoofoo]

true I do remember seeing Vagrant Story, that was pretty nice looking. I just mean in terms of the polygon painting or texturing and the facial detail, the fact the eyes and lips move and the faces are so clear and what not makes me feel it is slightly better. I also remember Fear Effect being fairly good but again the faces weren't great

A little off topic but I find it kind of funny that the ps2 and the saturn were similar in some respects but how developers embraced them was totally different.Both were complex architectures that drove developers insane, developers complained many times about both and there was were the similarities ended.The saturn did not do to well in the us and we all know what happened and the ps2 despite the protest of some devs the customers wouldnt have it and they had no choice but to stick to it.Makes me wonder had the saturn done better would the graphics improved later on?

[dark]

I'm sure they would have. Third party developers want to make money, and even if it is difficult to program for the PS2, it was still an economically good decision to invest in creating PS2 games just because of the potential for huge sales because of the enormous PS2 install base of people owning consoles.

Aside from the interests of first party software producers who want to market their system as the best compared to others, and entice people with good quality games that way - If you have a lot of third party developers working on games for the system, then you have increased competition for marketshare and for the video game budgets of kids and families. One of the primary ways to make your game stand out against the crowd is to put in the time/effort/money to try new things and make your game look better than the other guy's game. This increased competition would surely result in increasingly more impressive graphics as the years go by.

[MrSega]

Yeah I love the classics on sega/mega cd.

Final fight cd best port of ff ever. 5 in 1 game cd great music. Sonic and Eternal Champions cd were great. I liked Snatcher, Silpheed, Night Trap or whatever and others.

I heard it was best selling add on ever, but I'm sure Kinex eclipsed it by now ?

Hey Sega license the 32x sega cd and genesis to someone to make a retro system with all of them in a small size case with 1 adapter so we don't keep having to ! Call it the Sega Solar System ! The hell there is a million genesis versions by you and others anyway, even that fake wii with genesis slot counted ha.

All of The SEGA consoles before Saturn can be licensed by anyone(because SEGA sold off Master System's,Genesis,Sega CD and 32X patents). You just have to find the right person or right contractor.


As for SEGA CD, I got fond memories of playing Spiderman: Return of the Kingpin,Prize Fighter,Lunar Silver Story,Sonic CD and Lethal Encforcers on my old and RARE JVC X' Eye/Wondermega.


Too bad my infant sister poured water into the CD tray back in 1995.

[MrSega]

@djvectorman. The Venus "Nomad" was basically another Sega Amusements USA project that was developed as a portable Genesis hybrid. It was the second SOA only project during 1994. Nomad was built with a power base converter but wasn't developed as a stand-alone handheld. Therefore it wasn't very user friendly and didn't have a reset button.

Black Belt was the prototype SEGA Dreamcast chipset. The one that ran "Geist Force". It too was Sega Amusement USA developed. SOJ scrapped it because Soichiro Iwajiri was too skeptical about selling a $300 system and also was concerned that most 3rd party developers to new and inexperienced with DVD ROM would have a difficult time programming it.


As for PHOENIX, this is a fanmade codename dating back to 2008. The speculated codename for Sega Orbi's possible console varies by region. The arcade board will be called "RINGWAVE" and will be the 3rd Ring series board and will be in operation alongside RingEdge 2 early in 2013.

The codenamed or speculated codename in Japan is ATHENA/NEPTUNIA. Some sources claim that "Orbi" is also a codename and that SEGA is planning on making that word and brand their "Playstation".

The European speculated codename is "FUTURA or "Gamus Vision"(according to some sources in Sega Brazil).

The US build is reported to be going by the codename "PYZHERCAST" The word "PYHZER" is Greek for "Future" or new Era".



All of this is just speculation of course. SEGA console rumors have been on-again and off-again since 2007. But one thing is certain, the ORBI multi brand trademark makes it look alot more credible and gives the latest cycle alot more legs and plenty of believable info. Based on the fact that SEGA filed a gigantic "Playstation-like" trademark early this year, paid $5,000 for its registration and has been making every move possible showing them moving away from thier 11 year 3rd party only strategy.


Of course we have to wait and see. We DO know that ORBI is real and that its a new brand SEGA is planning on incoporating, we just don't know what it details.

[MrSega]

I'm sure they would have. Third party developers want to make money, and even if it is difficult to program for the PS2, it was still an economically good decision to invest in creating PS2 games just because of the potential for huge sales because of the enormous PS2 install base of people owning consoles.

Aside from the interests of first party software producers who want to market their system as the best compared to others, and entice people with good quality games that way - If you have a lot of third party developers working on games for the system, then you have increased competition for marketshare and for the video game budgets of kids and families. One of the primary ways to make your game stand out against the crowd is to put in the time/effort/money to try new things and make your game look better than the other guy's game. This increased competition would surely result in increasingly more impressive graphics as the years go by.

PS2's CPU had up to 8 different 16-bit CPUs. Its just that the loophole around its complex design was both its budget, Sony's brand, and development kits that were easy to use. Early on, Saturn lacked a proper development kit design. Sony wooed 3rd party partners with its own successful brand name.

[maverick]

PS2's CPU had up to 8 different 16-bit CPUs. Its just that the loophole around its complex design was both its budget, Sony's brand, and development kits that were easy to use. Early on, Saturn lacked a proper development kit design. Sony wooed 3rd party partners with its own successful brand name.

This is why Ouya has so much hype right now. Open-source and its easy to program.

I'm excited to see how streaming affects the next-gen of console gaming. With Ouya on the horizon and Sony buying gaikai, it will be the future of console gaming.

[MrSega]

PS2's CPU had up to 8 different 16-bit CPUs. Its just that the loophole around its complex design was both its budget, Sony's brand, and development kits that were easy to use. Early on, Saturn lacked a proper development kit design. Sony wooed 3rd party partners with its own successful brand name.

This is why Ouya has so much hype right now. Open-source and its easy to program.

I'm excited to see how streaming affects the next-gen of console gaming. With Ouya on the horizon and Sony buying gaikai, it will be the future of console gaming.

Ouya is something different. Gamers are tired of the current brands Nintendo,Mircosoft & Sony offering nothing new. Digital & Steam gaming is the wave of the future. It offers innovation & ingeuity. This is also why I'm excited about Sega Orbi. SEGA has been planning on getting into the tablet market for about 18 months now & curious to see what SEGA has to offer with their own Android.

I also wanna hear more about the "Sega Networks" brand. There's a GOLD mine for SEGA in digital gaming & F2P content. Lots of Sega Networks games would be perfect for Ouya.